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In Focus: 1/9/2014

Spreading the Word

Two new billboards promoting Southwestern can now be seen on I-35 north of Georgetown. This one is on the northbound side of the freeway.

Top News

2014 BROWN SYMPOSIUM WILL EXPLORE THE FUTURE OF HEALTH CARE IN THE UNITED STATES

More than 2,000 years ago, Hippocrates firmly rooted medicine in science by introducing the concept of empirical observation and reasoning. At the same time, he emphasized the human side of healing by teaching his students the importance of honesty, compassion and ethics in the practice of medicine.

In the past 50 years, much of that human side of medicine has disappeared as house calls have been replaced with high-tech machines and office visits where patients may only spend a few minutes with a doctor.

“Medicine is not all science and machines,” says Ben Pierce, professor of biology and holder of the Lillian Nelson Pratt Chair in Biology at Southwestern. “We need to include both in the health care of the future.”

Pierce has organized Southwestern’s 36th annual Brown Symposium, which will be held Feb. 6-7, 2014. The symposium is titled “Healing: The Art & Science of Medicine.”

EMPLOYEES RECOGNIZED FOR LONG-TIME SERVICE

Thirty-seven Southwestern employees were recognized Jan. 8 for their long-time service to the university.

Employees being recognized included two staff members who recently retired. Lou Ann Moore retired after 22 years of service in University Relations and Stella Torres retired after 13 years of service in Physical Plant.

Helyne Knauth, an administrative assistant in Physical Plant, was recognized for 30 years of service and Jeanette Holliday, an operations manager in Information Services, was recognized for 25 years of service.

Employees recognized for 20 years of service were Severo Castillo, Kenneth Cervenka, Mary Martinez, Scott Sandoval and Derek Timourian.

AUDITIONS FOR ‘GYPSY’ TO BE HELD JAN. 14

Members of the Georgetown community as well as the Southwestern community are invited to audition for the Theatre Department’s upcoming production of “Gypsy” on Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 6 p.m. in the Jones Theater.

Anyone interested in auditioning should email woodwaro@southwestern.edu to schedule an audition time. For more information, call 512-863-1548.

Performances of “Gypsy” will be held March 26-30.

FACULTY MEMBERS TO GIVE JAN. 18 RECITAL

Faculty members Hai Zheng and Kiyoshi Tamagawa will give a recital featuring works for cello and piano on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. in the Alma Thomas Theater. The program will include works by Ludwig van Beethoven, David Popper and Francis Poulenc.

Southwestern students William Danheim and Joon Chang will also be featured in the concert, which is free and open to the public. Additional information is available here.

Media Coverage

President Burger was interviewed for a program about the impact of higher education in Texas that aired on KRLD radio in Dallas Nov. 1. The program can be downloaded here. (Dr. Burger comes in around 19:00)

The Austin American-Statesman did a story about how students from Southwestern are teaching foreign languages to elementary school students in Georgetown. Read the story here. (Full access for subscribers only)

The Austin American-Statesman ran an op-ed piece by President Edward Burger about how to make math classes meaningful for students. Read the column here.

The Austin American-Statesman ran a story about how students from Southwestern are helping with research being conducted at the Ride On Center for Kids in Georgetown on the benefits of horse therapy for autistic children. Read the story here. (Full access for subscribers only)

Two stories from Southwestern – the appointment of President Edward Burger and the return of football – were included in the list of Top 10 Stories of 2013 for Georgetown compiled by the Williamson County Sun. The Sun also did stories on Southwestern’s decision not to pursue a master’s degree in translational medicine, how Suzanne Buchele and her husband are returning to Ghana as missionaries and history professor Thom McClendon’s new book on South Africa.

Notables

Barbara Anthony, assistant professor of computer science, presented a paper at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Global Communications Conference in Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 12. The paper, titled “Data Plan Throttling: A Simple Consumer Choice Mechanism,” was co-authored with Christine Chung, assistant professor of computer science at Connecticut College, and published in the conference proceedings and IEEE Xplore.

Southwestern senior Cameron Button competed in the Patriot All-America Invitational golf tournament, which was held Dec. 27-31 at the Wigwam Golf Resort in Arizona. Button was the first Southwestern golfer to earn a spot at the tournament, which features top collegiate golfers from all divisions. Read more here.

Sergio Costola, associate professor of theatre, and Michael Saenger, associate professor of English, co-authored an essay titled “Shylock’s Venice and the Grammar of the Modern City,” that was accepted in a forthcoming collection of essays, Shakespeare and the Italian Renaissance: Appropriation, Transformation, Opposition, edited by Michele Marrapodi, to be published by Ashgate in late 2014 or early 2015. Their essay suggests that Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice shows how Jews and other foreigners − such as John Florio, a contemporary of Shakespeare − were alienated in London, as well as in Venice.

Abby Dings, associate professor of Spanish, presented two talks at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages conference that was held in Orlando, Fla., in November. In “Learning about Spanish Oral Proficiency Evaluation: An Online Resource,” a joint presentation with colleagues from The University of Texas, the University of Iowa and Purdue University, she presented a project piloting a series of Open Badges for the Spanish Corpus Proficiency Level Training website. Her talk on “The Undergraduate Spanish Major Curriculum: Faculty, Alumni, and Student Perspectives,” which was co-presented with Tammy Jandrey Hertel of Lynchburg College, focused on the results of a nationwide survey of Spanish faculty members, current students and alumni.

Lois Ferrari, professor of music, conducted the Austin Civic Orchestra in a Nov. 9 concert that featured a work by American composer Anthony Iannaccone called “Dancing on Vesuvius.” Iannaccone attended the concert and gave a pre-concert talk with Ferrari. Southwestern students Mattie Kotzur and LenaWong are current members of the orchestra, along with Southwestern graduates Bob Brockett, Laura Gorman and Jennifer Coyle.

Senior Lindsay Jakszta was named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Women’s All-Scholar Region Team. Read more here.

In December, Tuba-Euphonium Press published an arrangement of “Salve Maria” created by Delaine Leonard, part-time instructor of applied music, and Eileen Meyer Russell, associate professor of music. The arrangement of Saverio Mercadante’s composition is set for harp and low brass (trombone or euphonium). Fedson and Meyer Russell first performed the arrangement in recital at Southwestern, and the arrangement is recorded on their 2011 CD, Unique Conversations.

Junior Jordan Owens was named the SCAC Women’s Basketball Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 6. Read more here.